By Phuong Nguyen Myanmar president Thein Sein November 2 signed a much anticipated foreign investment law, just one day after parliament approved it. The passage came as Thein Sein prepared to attend a series of high-profile regional events this month,…
ASEAN
Laos’s WTO Membership Will Help Bolster Rule of Law
by cogitASIA Staff • • 7 Comments
By Alexandra Sander The World Trade Organization (WTO) General Council, which includes representatives from all member governments, formally approved Laos’s membership at its October 26 meeting. Laos first applied for WTO membership in 1997 and, 15 years later, will be…
Free Speech and the Battle for ASEAN
by cogitASIA Staff • • 2 Comments
By Liam Hanlon In the last decade, several of ASEAN’s member countries recognized the need for greater regional integration to confront the challenges of the 21st century. They convinced their fellow members to go along, resulting in the 2007 ASEAN…
Economics and the EAS: A Second Chance for the United States
by cogitASIA Staff • • 0 Comments
By James Wallar • In November 2011 the United States joined the East Asia Summit (EAS), taking a seat with the leaders of ASEAN member countries and the other major players in Asia: China, Japan and Korea (ASEAN + 3),…
CSIS Asia Team Mega Event Series Recap
by cogitASIA Staff • • 0 Comments
Over the past two weeks our CSIS Asia Team hosted a series of high profile events on developments in the Asia-Pacific and the implications for U.S. foreign policy. Here at cogitASIA On Monday, September 24 CSIS Senior Vice President for…
US Seeks to Strengthen ASEAN ties through English Language Initiative
by cogitASIA Staff • • 0 Comments
By Jeremiah Magpile Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced the launch of the Brunei-U.S. English Language Enrichment for ASEAN September 7 during a visit to Brunei, in a significant gesture of U.S. support of ASEAN. English is the official language…
The Leaderboard: Anand Sharma
by cogitASIA Staff • • 1 Comment
Who is he? Anand Sharma is the Minister of Commerce & Industry for the Government of India, initially assuming the role in May 2009. He has been a prominent public face of the Indian National Congress (INC), initially elected to…
South China Sea Disputes: Diplomacy Key to Calming Troubled Waters
by cogitASIA Staff • • 2 Comments
By Michael Vatikiotis Recent arguments between ASEAN member states who are claimants to parts of the South China Sea and China, which claims sovereignty over almost the entire maritime area, have seriously upset the strategic equilibrium of the region. Temperatures…
Myanmar Trip Report: State of the Nation
by Ernest Z. Bower • • 4 Comments
[Editor’s Note: CSIS Asia Scholars Ernie Bower, Mike Green, Chris Johnson, and Murray Hiebert traveled to Myanmar in late August 2012 as part of a CSIS delegation to explore the political, economic, and social reforms launched by the new civilian…
APEC: Getting Stuff Done
by Matthew P. Goodman • • 2 Comments
By Matt Goodman Speaking to a hall full of CEOs at last year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Honolulu, President Barack Obama got his biggest applause line when he announced that he had just signed a law approving the…